FIFA FACES THREATS OF VIOLENCE DURING U.S.-IRAN MATCH

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that Iranian exile
groups have threatened to disrupt the Iran-U.S. match on
Sunday in Lyon, according to USA TODAY's Fred Coleman.
Blatter refused to "comment on possible groups involved or
actions contemplated," and he "expressed confidence" that
French police could handle any problems (USA TODAY, 6/18).
OTHER NOTES: In N.Y., Michael Starr writes that while
ABC Sports is "happy" with its 3.1 average rating for three
games, spokesperson Mark Mandel said that the U.S.'s Sunday
game "could determine how the network fares for the rest of
its World Cup coverage." In other news, Univision is more
than doubling its ratings in the N.Y. market with its Cup
coverage. Games in its 8:00-10:30am time-slot have averaged
a 1.9 rating, up 90% from the 1.0 it averaged in May.
Numbers in the 11:00am-1:30pm time slot have increased 75%
to a 2.1. Nationally, Univision "measures its ratings in
Hispanic households only, and thus far" has averaged a 9.7
rating through 13 matches (N.Y. POST, 6/18).